Sevoflurane blocks glioma malignant development by upregulating circRELN through circRELN-mediated miR-1290/RORA axis.

BACKGROUND: Sevoflurane (Sev) has been reported to inhibit cancer development, and sevoflurane treatment in cancers is implicated with the deregulation of specific non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sevoflurane and circular RNA reelin (circRELN) in glioma. METHODS: The expression of circRELN, microRNA-1290 (miR-1290) and RAR-related orphan receptor A (RORA) was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Cell proliferative capacity was assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were monitored by flow cytometry assay. Cell migration was assessed by wound healing assay and transwell assay, and cell invasion was assessed by transwell assay. The protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), MMP9 and RORA were quantified by western blot. Tumor growth in vivo was assessed by Xenograft models. The binding relationship between miR-1290 and circRELN or RORA was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. RESULTS: We found that circRELN expression was declined in glioma tissues and cells, while Sev treatment enhanced circRELN expression. In function, Sev notably inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, while circRELN knockdown reversed these effects. MiR-1290 served as a target of circRELN, and glioma cell malignant phenotypes recovered by circRELN knockdown were partly repressed by miR-1290 deficiency. In addition, RORA was a target of miR-1290, and glioma cell malignant phenotypes promoted by miR-1290 restoration were partly blocked by RORA overexpression. CircRELN regulated RORA expression by targeting miR-1290. In Xenograft models, Sev inhibited tumor growth by upregulating circRELN. CONCLUSION: Sev blocked the progression of glioma by increasing circRELN expression, and circRELN played roles in glioma partly by regulating the miR-1290/RORA network.

lncRNA MALAT1 contributes to neuropathic pain development through regulating miR-129-5p/HMGB1 axis in a rat model of chronic constriction injury.

Backgrounds: Mounting studies pay attention to the functional roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in many human diseases including neuropathic pain. LncRNA MALAT1 has been indicated to serve as a critical mediator in neuropathic pain with unclear mechanisms. The present study aims to explore the functional roles of MALAT1 in neuropathic pain progression and the related mechanisms.Methods: Bilateral sciatic nerves were ligated to induce chronic constriction injury (CCI) in order to establish the neuropathic pain rat model followed by behavioral tests, RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and ELISA. Dual luciferase activity assay was performed to determine the binding effect between MALAT1 or HMGB1 and miR-129-5p.Results: The mRNA levels of MALAT1 were significantly enhanced in CCI rats. MALAT1 inhibition repressed the development of neuropathic pain and neuroinflammation. Additionally, miR-129-5p was decreased and HMGB1 was increased, both of which could be rectified by MALAT1 inhibition. Meanwhile, MALAT1 targeted miR-129-5p/HMGB1 axis. Finally, miR-129-5p suppression attenuated the inhibitory effect of MALAT1 inhibition on neuropathic pain and neuroinflammation development in CCI rats.Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that MALAT1 might modulate neuropathic pain via targeting miR-129-5p/HMGB1 axis. These findings may lead to a promising and efficacious clinical approach for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

TRPM2 participates the transformation of acute pain to chronic pain during injury-induced neuropathic pain.

Transient receptor melastatin 2 (TRPM2) is a nonselective Ca2+ -permeable cation channel highly expressed in brain and other tissues. Studies showed that TRPM2 contributed to the induction of inflammatory cytokine and chemokine of immune cells, resulted in neuropathic pain. However, how TRPM2 regulates neuropathic pain is not clear. The sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model was used to induce chronic neuropathic pain. The RNA and protein level of TRPM2 was detected with real-time PCR and western blot. SiRNA targeting TRPM2 was used to knockdown the expression of TRPM2. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were determined using H2DCFDA assay and NO production was analyzed by measuring the accumulated level of its stable metabolite (nitrite). We found that CCI significantly increased TRPM2 expression in dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord. Knockdown TRPM2 in early phase after CCI alleviated injury-induced neuropathic pain. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that TRPM2 knockdown drastically inhibited the iNOS expression and NO generation, with decreased ROS generation in CCI rat. TRPM2 participates in the transformation of acute pain to chronic pain during injury-induced neuropathic pain, which might serve as a potential therapeutic target for neuropathic pain.

Halogenated organic pollutants in sediments and organisms from mangrove wetlands of the Jiulong River Estuary, South China.

Eighteen sediments and four biota species were collected from mangrove wetlands of the Jiulong River Estuary (JRE) in South China to investigate the distribution of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), dechlorane plus (DP) and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE). Concentrations of ΣDDTs, ΣPCBs, ΣPBDEs, DBDPE, DP, and BTBPE in mangrove sediments ranged from 21 to 84, 0.52-2.5, 9.0-66, 5.1-32, 0.05-0.14, and 0.03-0.25 ng/g dry weight, respectively. Levels of ΣDDTs, ΣPCBs, ΣPBDEs, DBDPE and DP in mangrove biota ranged from 950 to 30000, 56-400, 8.0-35, nd-20 and 0.44-3.1 ng/g lipid weight, respectively. DDTs were the predominant halogenated organic pollutants (HOPs) in mangrove sediments from the JRE, while PBDEs were the major HOPs in mangrove sediments from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), suggesting that sediments in JRE and PRE had different sources of HOPs. The dominance of DDTs was found in both mangrove sediments and biota from the JRE, indicating that HOPs in JRE environment mainly come from agricultural sources. The biota-sediment accumulation factors for DDTs and PCBs were significantly higher than those of PBDEs, DBDPE and DP, suggesting high bioavailability of DDTs and PCBs in mangrove biota. Trophic magnification factors for DDTs, PCBs, PBDEs, and DP were 10.5, 3.00, 2.66 and 1.23, respectively, indicating their potential of biomagnification in mangrove food webs.

Thalidomide alleviates bone cancer pain by down-regulating expressions of NF-κB and GFAP in spinal astrocytes in a mouse model.

Aim: Thalidomide is one of the first line therapies in cancer pain management. Previous study has shown that thalidomide decreases the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha in the mouse spinal cord. However, the exact cellular and molecular mechanism underlying the effect of thalidomide remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of thalidomide on the expression level of NF-κB as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the spinal cord astrocyte in a mice model. Materials and methods: MC57G fibrosarcoma cells were intramedullary injected into the right femurs of C57/BL mice to induce behaviors related to bone cancer pain. Postoperative thalidomide was administered intraperitoneally to the mice at dose of 100 mg/kg/day for 7 days. The effect of thalidomide on pain hypersensitivity was checked by behavioral testing. The expression levels of NF-κB and GFAP in spinal cord were evaluated by using Western blotting and Immunohistochemistry. Results: Compared with the controls, the tumor-bearing mice showed substantial pain-related behaviors. Furthermore, the expression levels of both NF-κB and GFAP increased significantly in the spinal cord astrocytes of the tumor-bearing mice. Treating the tumor-bearing mice with thalidomide results in a dramatic reduction in pain behaviors and a significant decrease of NF-κB and GFAP expressions. Conclusions: Thalidomide alleviates the pain behaviors probably by down-regulating the expression of NF-κB and GFAP.

Effects of dietary Spirulina platensis on growth performance, hematological and serum biochemical parameters, hepatic antioxidant status, immune responses and disease resistance of Coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Lacepede, 1802).

The present study investigated the effects of dietary Spirulina platensis supplementation on growth performance, hematological and serum biochemical parameters, hepatic antioxidant status, immune responses and resistance to the pathogen infection in Coral trout Plectropomus leopardus. The fish were fed for 8-week with diets containing different levels of S. platensis: 0% (C), 2% (SP2), 4% (SP4), 6% (SP6), 8% (SP8) and 10% (SP10) as treatment groups, followed by a Vibrio harveyi infection test for 14 d. The study indicated that dietary supplementation with Spirulina platensis could significantly improve growth performance, and the highest weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) were observed in group SP10 (P < .05). Red cell count (RBC), white cell count (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the S. platensis supplemented groups were significantly higher than those of group C (P < .05). However, the levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activities decreased with the increasing of dietary S. platensis levels. Compared with group C, the lysozyme (LYZ) and respiratory burst activities (RBA), and immunoglobulin (Ig) and complement contents in group SP4, SP6, SP8 and SP10 increased significantly than those of group C respectively (P < .05). After challenge with V. harveyi, the survival rate in group SP4, SP6, SP8 and SP10 was significantly higher than that of group C, and the highest survival rate was in group SP10 (P < .05). These results indicated that P. leopardus fed a diet supplemented with S. platensis (especially at 10%) could significantly promote its growth performance, improve its hepatic antioxidant status, and enhance its immune ability and resistance to V. harveyi infection.

Role of sigma 1 receptor in high fat diet-induced peripheral neuropathy.

The neurobiological mechanisms of obesity-induced peripheral neuropathy are poorly understood. We evaluated the role of Sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R) and NMDA receptor (NMDARs) in the spinal cord in peripheral neuropathy using an animal model of high fat diet-induced diabetes. We examined the expression of Sig-1R and NMDAR subunits GluN2A and GluN2B along with postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) in the spinal cord after 24-week HFD treatment in both wild-type and Sig-1R-/- mice. Finally, we examined the effects of repeated intrathecal administrations of selective Sig-1R antagonists BD1047 in HFD-fed wild-type mice on peripheral neuropathy. Wild-type mice developed tactile allodynia and thermal hypoalgesia after 24-week HFD treatment. HFD-induced peripheral neuropathy correlated with increased expression of GluN2A and GluN2B subunits of NMDARs, PDS-95, and Sig-1R, as well as increased Sig-1R-NMDAR interaction in the spinal cord. In contrast, Sig-1R-/- mice did not develop thermal hypoalgesia or tactile allodynia after 24-week HFD treatment, and the levels of GluN2A, GluN2B, and PSD-95 were not altered in the spinal cord of HFD-fed Sig-1R-/- mice. Finally, repeated intrathecal administrations of selective Sig-1R antagonists BD1047 in HFD-fed wild-type mice attenuated peripheral neuropathy. Our results suggest that obesity-associated peripheral neuropathy may involve Sig-1R-mediated enhancement of NMDAR expression in the spinal cord.

Thalidomide Promotes Morphine Efficacy and Prevents Morphine-Induced Tolerance in Rats with Diabetic Neuropathy.

Opioid analgesics have less efficacy in diabetic neuropathy treatment, and tolerance often occurs after chronic usage. Given that thalidomide can potentiate the morphine efficacy in diabetic neuropathy treatment, we investigated the effects of intrathecal administrations of thalidomide on morphine tolerance during the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. We found that intrathecal administrations of thalidomide (25 mg/kg/ml) potentiated the analgesic effects of morphine on mechanical hyperalgesia and prevented the development of morphine tolerance. While this treatment regimen did not alter the protein levels of µ-opioid receptor (MOR) in the spinal cord of diabetic rats, chronic morphine treatment robustly increased MOR binding density in the synaptic plasma membranes fraction, but decreased it in the microsomal fraction. Furthermore, thalidomide was able to reverse the distribution of MOR altered by chronic morphine treatment. Finally, STZ-induced diabetes promoted PKC activation and enhanced TNFα level in the spinal cord, which were attenuated by intrathecal administrations of thalidomide. Taken together, these results suggested that thalidomide may potentiate morphine efficacy on diabetic neuropathy and prevent the development of morphine tolerance by suppressing PKC activation and TNFα level in the spinal cord.

Spatial and Vertical Distribution of Dechlorane Plus in Mangrove Sediments of the Pearl River Estuary, South China.

Thirty surface sediments and three sediment cores were collected from mangrove wetlands in the Pearl River Estuary of South China to investigate the spatial and vertical distribution of Dechlorane Plus (DP). DP concentrations in the mangrove surface sediments ranged from 0.0130 to 1.504 ng/g dry weight (dw). DP concentrations in sediments from Shenzhen were significantly greater than those from Guangzhou and Zhuhai. Anti-Cl11-DP, the dechlorinated product of anti-DP, was also detected in the mangrove sediments with concentrations ranged from not detected to 0.0198 ng/g dw. Significant positive relationship between anti-Cl11-DP and anti-DP levels was observed in the mangrove sediments, suggesting that photo and/or microbial degradation of anti-DP might occur in the sediments. The f anti values in the mangrove sediments were close to those in the technical DP products, suggesting that stereoselective enrichment of anti-DP may not exist in the mangrove sediments. DP concentrations in the mangrove sediment cores generally showed an increasing trend from the bottom to top layers. This is the first study to report the occurrence of DP and its degradation product in the mangrove wetlands.

Geographical distribution and risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants in golden threads (Nemipterus virgatus) from the northern South China Sea.

Fish are often used as good bioindicators to monitor the occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on different scales in recent years. Forty-five golden threads (Nemipterus virgatus) were collected from six sampling sites in the northern South China Sea (SCS) to investigate the geographical distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs). Concentrations of PBDEs, PCBs, and DDTs ranged from 1.3-36.0, 2.3-76.5, 8.3-228 ng/g lipid weight, respectively. The highest PBDEs and DDTs concentrations were found in golden threads from Shantou, owing to the intensive electronic waste recycling activities and rapid development of agriculture. Samples from Haikou had the highest levels of PCBs, probably due to the existence of many shipbuilding yards in the past years. The concentrations of PBDEs and PCBs were found in a decreasing trend from east to west and from north to south, while DDTs concentrations had no obvious trend in the distribution. PCBs were the most prevalent contaminants in Xiamen and Yangjiang, while DDTs were the dominant compounds at the other four sampling sites. Different profiles of POPs at each sampling site may attribute to different pollution sources in the northern SCS. Ratios of (DDD + DDE)/DDTs in golden threads suggested the probability of fresh input of DDT in the northern SCS. The estimated daily intakes of PBDEs, PCBs and DDTs were 0.030-0.069, 0.167-0.258 and 0.105-1.88 ng/kg/day, respectively, which were significantly lower than the acceptable daily intake, suggesting that consumption of golden threads from the northern SCS would not subject the residents in the coastal areas of SCS to significant health risk.

Ecotoxicity of two organophosphate pesticides chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos on non-targeting cyanobacteria Microcystis wesenbergii.

Organophosphate pesticides (OPs), as a replacement for the organochlorine pesticides, are generally considered non-toxic to plants and algae. Chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos are two OPs used for pest control all over the world. In this study, the dose-response of cyanobacteria Microcystis wesenbergii on OPs exposure and the stimulating effect of OPs with and without phosphorus source were investigated. The results showed that high concentrations of chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos caused significant decrease of chlorophyll a content. The median inhibitory concentrations (EC50) of chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos at 96 h were 15.40 and 261.16 µmol L(-1), respectively. Growth of M. wesenbergii under low concentration of OPs (ranged from 1/10,000 to 1/20 EC50), was increased by 35.85 % (chlorpyrifos) and 41.83 % (dichlorvos) at 120 h, respectively. Correspondingly, the highest enhancement on the maximum quantum yield (F v/F m) was 4.20 % (24 h) and 9.70 % (48 h), respectively. Chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics, known as O-J-I-P transients, showed significant enhancements in the O-J, J-I, and I-P transients under low concentrations of dichlorvos at 144 h, while enhancements of chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics induced by low concentrations of chlorpyrifos were only observed in the J-I transient at 144 h. Significant decreases of chlorophyll content, F v/F m and O-J-I-P transients with OPs as sole phosphorus source were found when they were compared with inorganic phosphate treatments. The results demonstrated an evidently hormetic dose-response of M. wesenbergii to both chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos, where high dose (far beyond environmental concentrations) exposure caused growth inhibition and low dose exposure induced enhancement on physiological processes. The stimulating effect of two OPs on growth of M. wesenbergii was negligible under phosphate limitation.

Combining ECMO with IABP for the treatment of critically Ill adult heart failure patients.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the experience of combining extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) for the treatment of acute heart failure in critically ill adults. METHODS: The clinical data of 54 patients who received ECMO combined with IABP due to acute heart failure between January 2008 and July 2012 were retrospectively analysed. Thirty-eight of the patients were male, and 16 were female; the mean age was 57±11. Thirty-nine of the patients received IABP first but were still unable to maintain adequate circulation, and were then given ECMO; the other 15 underwent ECMO first, but due to increased left ventricular load, the opening of the aortic valve was restricted and IABP was then introduced. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients (63%) were successfully weaned from ECMO; 21 patients (38.9%) survived to discharge. Major complications that occurred were renal failure (27 cases), infection (20 cases), blood plasma leakage in the oxygenator (13 cases), bleeding (18 cases), limb ischaemia (eight cases), and neurological complications (seven cases); in the group of patients who did not survive, the rates of bleeding occurrence, infection and renal failure were markedly higher than in the survived patients group. In both groups, the longer the patients were on support, the more improvement they showed in terms of MAP, CVP, Lac, SvO2 and IS. CONCLUSION: ECMO and IABP may have synergistic effects and play complementary roles in the treatment of acute cardiac failure; with timely administration, active prevention and treatment of complications, they can improve treatment outcome.

Effects of cadmium exposure on haemocyte immune function of clam Ruditapes philippinarum at different temperatures.

Haemocytes are crucial for the immune defence of mollusks. It is important to explore the immune performance of haemocytes of mollusks under the stress of heavy metals with global warming. In order to study the effects of cadmium (Cd) exposure and temperature stress on the haemocyte immune function of clam Ruditapes philippinarum, clams were exposed to different Cd concentrations (0.05, 0.10 and 0.25 mg/L) at 20 °C, 25 °C and 30 °C respectively. Haemocyte mortality, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured at day 1, day 3, day 5 and day 7. The results showed that the changes of the three indexes were not obvious when exposed to 0.05 mg/L of Cd at 20 °C, while significant differences were observed with the increase of temperature, Cd concentration and exposure time. Under a condition of relative high temperature coupling with high concentration of Cd, the clams were significantly influenced, showing an obvious synergistic effect. Selected indexes reflect the clam's response to the combined stress of temperature and Cd. Moreover, R. philippinarum might be an ideal biological index species to the Cd pollution.

Transcriptome analysis reveals genes expression pattern of Spirodela polyrhiza response to heat stress.

With global warming, high-temperature stress has become an essential abiotic factor affecting plant growth and survival. However, little knowledge was available of the molecular mechanism that aquatic plants respond to this stress. In the present study, we explore the adaptation mechanism of Spirodela polyrhiza, a surface-water-grown duckweed species broadly distributed worldwide to high temperatures, and analyze its gene expression pattern of S. polyrhiza under heat stress. Three temperature stress treatments, including room temperature group (CK), middle high-temperature group (MTS), and high-temperature group (45 °C, HTS) were set. The results showed that the contents of SOD first increased and then decreased, and those of MDA showed an upward trend under elevated high-temperature stress. According to the transcriptome data, 3145, 3487, and 3089 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between MTS and CK, HTS and CK, and HTS and MTS, respectively. The transcription factors (TFs) analysis showed that 14 deferentially expressed TFs, including HSF, ERF, WRKY, and GRAS family, were responsive to heat stress, suggesting they might play vital roles in improving resistance to heat stress. In conclusion, S. polyrhiza could resist high temperatures by increasing SOD activity and MDA at the physiological level. Several transcription factors, energy accumulation processes, and cell membranes were involved in high-temperature stress at the molecular level. Our findings are helpful in better grasping the adaptation rules of some aquatic plants to high temperatures.

An adult female patient with single atrium and single ventricle undergoing appendectomy: A case report.

Appendicitis is one of the common diseases, and appendectomy is one of the most commonly performed procedures. Single atrium and single ventricle are rare heart diseases, and very few patients survive to adulthood. We report a patient with single atrial and single ventricles undergoing appendectomy with transverse abdominis plane block and dexmedetomidine sedation anesthesia with smooth postoperative appendectomy.

Using Sweet Sorghum Varieties for the Phytoremediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Salinized Soil: A Preliminary Study Based on Pot Experiments.

Using energy plants to repair salinized soils polluted by petroleum is an efficient way to solve the problem of farmland reduction and prevent pollutants from entering the food chain simultaneously. In this study, pot experiments were conducted for the purposes of preliminarily discussing the potential of using an energy plant, sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), to repair petroleum-polluted salinized soils and obtain associated varieties with excellent remediation performance. The emergence rate, plant height and biomass of different varieties were measured to explore the performance of plants under petroleum pollution, and the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil with candidate varieties was also studied. The results showed that the emergence rate of 24 of the 28 varieties were not reduced by the addition of 1.0 × 104 mg/kg petroleum in soils with a salinity of 0.31%. After a 40-day treatment in salinized soil with petroleum additions of 1.0 × 104 mg/kg, 4 potential well-performed varieties including Zhong Ketian No. 438, Ke Tian No. 24, Ke Tian No. 21 (KT21) and Ke Tian No. 6 with a plant height of >40 cm and dry weight of >4 g were screened. Obvious removal of petroleum hydrocarbons in the salinized soils planted with the four varieties were observed. Compared with the treatment without plants, the residual petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in soils planted with KT21 decreased by 69.3%, 46.3%, 56.5%, 50.9% and 41.4%, for the additions of 0, 0.5 × 104, 1.0 × 104, 1.5 × 104 and 2.0 × 104 mg/kg, respectively. In general, KT21 had the best performance and application potential to remediate petroleum-polluted salinized soil.

Simultaneous determination of cis- and trans-palmitoleic acid in rat serum by UPLC-MS/MS.

Palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid which could affect glucose and lipid metabolism and reduce insulin resistance has two isomers, i.e. cis-palmitoleic acid (cPOA) and trans-palmitoleic acid (tPOA). However, the pharmacokinetic, metabolic transformation and structure-activity relationship of the two isomers have not been reported. A precise and accurate ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed to determine cPOA and tPOA simultaneously. Both the cPOA and tPOA were administered i.g. (intragastric gavage) to rats at 75 mg/kg. Serum samples were collected and analyzed for the two isomers by UPLC-MS/MS on a reverse-phase BDS C18 column equilibrated and eluted with water (A) and acetonitrile (B) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The calibration curves for cPOA and tPOA were linear over the range 0.1-12 µg/mL. Analytes were monitored by selected-reaction monitoring in negative electrospray ionization mode. The Tmax of cPOA was 0.94 ± 0.44 h and the Cmax 8.17 ± 1.97 µg/L, and the Tmax and Cmax of tPOA were 1.50 ± 0.98 h and 14.77 ± 11.91 µg/L, respectively. AUC0-24 h of cPOA and tPOA were 59.45 ± 29.83 and 113.88 ± 72.25 mg/L·h. The method was applied in pharmacokinetic study of cPOA and tPOA in rat serum successfully. Besides, the concentrations of cPOA and tPOA in rat serums were observed fluctuating with a consistent trend, which may be due to reciprocal bio-convert in the body.

The Effects of Secondary Growth of Spartina alterniflora after Treatment on Sediment Microorganisms in the Yellow River Delta.

As a typical invasive species, Spartina alterniflora is widely recognized as one of the primary threats to biodiversity in various habitats, including wetlands. Although the invasion by S. alterniflora has been managed in multiple ways, it may reappear after treatment. How S. alterniflora affects the soil microbial community in coastal wetlands during its regeneration process has not yet been clarified. Here, rhizosphere soil samples (RSPs) and bulk soil samples (SSPs) were collected in the S. alterniflora community and a high-throughput sequencing method was conducted to analyze the composition and diversity of soil microorganisms. Meanwhile, we also obtain the soil physicochemical properties. In the present study, there was no significant difference in the alpha diversity of both bacterial and fungal communities in the SSP and RSP groups. The PCoA (principal coordinate analysis) also showed that the microbial community structure did not differ significantly between the SSP and RSP groups. The results showed that except for pH, the total sulfur (TS) content, total nitrogen (TN) content, and electrical conductivity (EC) did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between the SSP and RSP groups. The composition of the bacterial and fungal community in the rhizosphere of S. alterniflora was similar to that found in the surrounding soils. The top two dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria and Desulfobacterota in the present study. Venn diagram results also support this view; most OTUs belong to the common OTUs of the two groups, and the proportion of unique OTUs is relatively small. The LEfSe (LDA effect size) analysis showed that Campylobacterota (at the phylum level) and Sulfurimonas (at the genus level) significantly increased in the RSP group, implying that the increased Sulfurimonas might play an essential role in the invasion by S. alterniflora during the under-water period. Overall, these results suggest that the bacterial and fungal communities were not significantly affected by the S. alterniflora invasion due to the short invasion time.

Occurrence and ecological risks of brominated flame retardants and dechlorane plus in sediments from the Pearl River Estuary and Daya Bay, South China.

Considering the phasing-out of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), environmental concerns of PBDE alternatives and dechlorane plus (DP) are rising. Accordingly, this study investigates occurrence and ecological risks of PBDEs, PBDE alternatives and DPs in sediments of two littoral regions, the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and Daya Bay (DYB), in southern China. Total PBDEs concentrations in surface sediments of the PRE and DYB were in the range (mean) of 0.30-28.7 (8.71) and 0.29-43.4 (6.05) ng/g dw, respectively. DP levels in surface sediments of the PRE (0.004-0.27 ng/g dw) were significantly higher than those in the DYB (0.005-0.24 ng/g dw) (p < 0.05). BDE 209 was the predominant component, followed by DBDPE, exhibiting regional variations in BFRs usage. Vertical profiles of BFRs and DP in the PRE and DYB sediment cores exhibited clear anthropogenic influences. Risk quotients suggest critical ecological risks of tetra-, penta- and deca-BDE congeners in all the surface sediments.

Heavy Metal Contamination in Sediments from Wetlands Invaded by Spartina alterniflora in the Yellow River Delta.

Heavy metals are major pollutants that pose threats to wetland environments. In the present study, surface sediments from wetlands vegetated by invasive species Spartina alterniflora in the Yellow River Delta were collected and determined for the mass fractions of Co, Ni, As, Cd and Pb. Results showed mass fractions of Co, Ni, As, Cd and Pb in the sediments of the S. alterniflora communities ranged from 8.5 to 16.0, 13.9−27.9, 3.2−13.8, 0.08−0.24, and 17.6−37.5 mg/kg dw, respectively, generally presenting an order of Pb > Ni > Co > As > Cd. The levels of heavy metals in sediments in the S. alterniflora communities were higher than those in the wetland vegetated by the native plant species Suaeda heteroptera. Correlations among metal elements were highly significant, suggesting that they might have the same sources. Clay and TOC were important factors affecting the spatial distribution of metals. The Igeo values of the investigated elements in the sediments were frequently lower than 0, revealing the slight pollution status of these metals. Relatively slight values of Eri and RI suggested that the potential ecological risks caused by the 5 metals were low. Our findings could provide a better understanding of the correlation between metal pollution and bio-invasion in wetland ecosystems.